Geobge king



G. KING.

STEP LADDER.

.(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 21.1882.

UNITED STATES I PATENT Orrrcn.

GEORGE KING, OF FREDERICK, MARYLAND.

STEP-LADD ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,925, dated February21, 1882.

' Application filed November 2,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE KING, a citizen of theUnited States, residingat Frederick,in

the county of Frederick and State of Maryland, have invented a new anduseful Im provement in Step-Ladders; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and ex.- act description thereof, referencebeing bad to the annexed drawings and letters of reference markedthereon, forming a part of this my specification of said invention, inwhich draw- 1ngs- Figure 1 is a perspective rear view of my improvedstep-ladder, the same being shown with its hinged swinging supportfolded down upon the body portion of the ladder. Fig. 2 is a brokendetail vertical section in the line y y of Fig. 7 showing adjacent andconnected upper parts of atop portion of the ladder, on the right-handside thereof, when viewed from the rear, as in Fig; 1. Figs. 3 and 4 areperspective views of the metal bracket to which the several partsindicated in Fig. 2 are connected. Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view ofthe left-hand bracket shown in Fig. 1 when looking at the ladder fromthe rear, as represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of thelock-bar employed to hold the ladder upright in a fixed position whenthrown open for use, and Fig.7 is a broken detail vertical section inthe line 1 y of Fig. 2. p

The main object of my invention is the pro ductionof a step-ladder whichshall have those bracing portions upon which the greatest strain fallsin the act of use thoroughly protected from displacement at the upperends; and it consists in certain constructions and combinations ofparts, hereinafter described and spe-.

solid and partly in dotted lines. The lower ends of these braces arecoincident with the lower ends of the side pieces, A. A, and thus willstand upon the same foundation as theside pieces when the step-ladder isin position for use, while their upper ends extend up into a socket, b,provided therefor in the metal brackets L L.

E E are brace-bars, stayed by cross-pieces 0 6 as shown,and with theirupper ends seated in a socket, I), (see Figs. 3 and 5,) of the metalbrackets L L, when said brackets are adjusted in position, as signifiedin Figs. 1, 2, and 7. The construction of the bracket L is clearly shownby Figs. 3 and 4, in which figures f indicates a main plate extendingthe whole length of the bracket, f a plate at right angles to the platef, as shown, and F a semicircular cap-bearing, which projects at rightangles from the plate f, and is divided by a' plate an open socket, band b, to receive the upper ends of the brace-bars B and E, as shown inFig. 1. Screw-holes s are made in the plate f to allow the bracket to bescrewed in position to the side pieces, A A, while the plate f hasbeveled slots 8, through which screws can be passed to confine suchplate to the under side of the stand-boarda, as shown. As shown in thefigures, the bracket L is a right-hand bracket, and L aleft-handbracketthat is to say, the bracket L (shownin inverted plan view in Fig.5) has the cap-bearing F and plate f on one side of its platef, while inFigs. 3 and 4 the cap-bearing F and plate f are upon the other side ofthe plate f. The brackets LL are cast of asingle piece of metal, andserve as cap-bearings or abutments for the upper ends of the brace-barsE and B,while one side of each upper end of said bars laterally embracesthe division-plate) of the brackets, as indicated in Fig. 2, said platethus assisting to confine the upper ends of the bars B in place, andimparting steadiness of action to the bars E as they swing forward andback upon the confining-bolt M while the step-ladder is in use.

The side pieces, A A, have latch-bars 1? secured to their outer sides,as indicatedin Fig. 1, by bolts passed through a perforation, g, (shownin Fig.6,) in their rear ends, and upon which bolts they are made tofreely articulate. One of these latch-bars is shown in Fig. 6, its rearend being curved, as at c c 0, along a portion of its length, as shown,while the remainder of its length to a point, as, near its forward endis straightand of the same width, butfrom the pointw to itsforward-terminating end the width of the bar is reduced,as shown, andwith one-half of such reduced portion turned up at rightangles with themain body of the bar, thus forming a catch, as at d, and a shoulder, asat w, so that when the bar P is in position, as shown in Fig. 1, and thestep-ladder is then thrown open for use, the bar P will, during suchact, be drawn along through the hasp P, on the inside of the bar E,until finally a portion of therear side ofthe hasp will'engage withtheshoulder a) of the bar P, while a portion of the front side of the haspwill engage with the catch d,- and thus lock the step-ladder in its openposition, ready for use. When it is'desired to close up the ladder fromits locked open position the bar 1? is raised until its shoulder 00becomes disengaged from the hasp P, whereupon thesupportingbars E'may heclosed down, as in Fig. 1, and during this act the bar P will beprojected along through the hasp 1? until it reaches its position, asshown in said figure, out of the way, and with its main body portionhanging down between the bar E and sidepiece A, which position it isenabled to assume by reason of its rearward bent portion a c c.

Having thus described my improved stepladder, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Slates,

1. A bracket for step-ladders, cast entire in one'piece, withbearing-plates f and f and a cap or shoulder bearing, F, provided with apartition-plate, f substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. Swingingbraces E and bracesB, in combination with brackets L L,provided with separate sockets, b b ,'to receive theupper ends of saidbraces, substantiallyusand for the purpose described.

GEOEGE KING.

Witnesses ROBERT SToKY, DoRsEYH. SMITH.

